The Independent
candidates accounted for over 30% of the popular vote in Moyle,
resulting in four seats. Sinn Fein and the SDLP both saw their
share of the vote slide significantly and both lost seats to
independent candidates in Ballycastle (where the winning
independent had been a sitting SF councillor for another DEA, and
his sister was also elected as an SF councillor) and The Glens
respectively. The TUV gained representation on the Council winning
a seat in Giants Causeway. Also of note, Moyle District Council
had an average quota of just 359 votes, the lowest in Northern
Ireland.

*
A change of legislation in 2001 meant that candidates could no
longer describe themselves as "Independent Nationalists",
"Independent Unionists" or "Christian"; the "Independents" in
2001 include candidates who had previously used all of these
labels. The pre-2001 distinction between Independents and
Independent Nationalists is a bit notional in this case.

The SDLP
candidate, Theo Laverty, won on the second count by 974 to 578.
The Sinn Fein candidate, Cathal Newcombe, had failed to comply
with the regulations correctly and so was described as
"Independent" on the ballot paper. Liam McBride, unsuccessful
independent candidate here in 2001, was Newcombe's election
agent. Newcombe himself had been the election agent of
successful independent candidate Seamus Blaney in 2001. (Thanks
to Justin McCamphill for these snippets.)

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